ANIGHTTHEEARTHDIDN'TSLEEP 　　StrangethingswerehappeninginthecountrysideofnortheastHebei.Forthreedaysthewaterinthevillagewellsroseandfell,roseandfell.Farmersnoticedthatthewellwallshaddeepcracksinthem.Asmellygascameoutofthecracks.Inthefarmyards,thechickensandeventhepigsweretoonervoistoeat.Miceranoutofthefieldslookingforplacestohide.Fishjumpedoutoftheirbowlsandponds.Atabout3:00amonjuly28,1976,somepeoplesawbrightlightsinthesky.ThesoundofplanescouldbeheardoutsidethecityofTangshanevenwhennoplaneswereinthesky.Inthecity,thewaterpipesinsomebuildingscrackedandburst.buttheonemillionpeopleofthecity,whothiughtlittleoftheseevents,wereasleepasusualthatnight. 　　At3:42ameverythingbegantoshake.Itseemedasiftheworldwasatanend!Elevenkilometresdirectlybelowthecitythegreatestearthquakeofthe20thcenturyhadbegun.ItwasfeltinBeijing,whichismorethantwohundredkilometresaway.One-thirdofthenationfeltit.Ahugecrackthatwaseightkilometreslongandthirtymetreswidecutacrosshouses,roadsandcanals.Steamburstfromholesintheground.Hardhillsofrockbecameriversofdir.Infifteenterriblesecondsalargecitylayinruins.Thesufferingofthepeoplewasextreme.Two-thirdsofthemdiedorwereleftwithoutparents.Thenumberofpeoplewhowerekilledorinjuredreachedmorethan400,000. 　　Buthowcouldthesurvivorsbelieveitwasnatural?Everywheretheylookednearlyeverythingwasdestroyed.Allofthecity'shospitals,75%ofitsfactoriesandbuildingsand90%ofitshomesweregone.Brickscoveredthegroundlikeredautumnleaves.Nowind,however,couldblowthemaway.Twodamsfellandmostofthebridgesalsofellorwerenotsafefortravelling.Therailwaytrackswerenowuselesspiecesofsteel.Tensofthousandsofcowswouldnevergivemilkagain.Halfamillionoigsandmillionsofchickensweredead.Sandnowfilledthewellsinsteadofwater.Peoplewereshocked.Then,laterthatafternoon,anotherbigquakewhichwasalmostasstrongasthefirstoneshookTangshan.Someoftherescueworkersanddoctorsweretrappedundertheruins.Morebuildingsfelldown.Water,food,andelectricitywerehardtoget.peoplebegabtowonderhowlongthedisasterwouldlast. 　　Allhopewasnotlost.Soonafterthequakes,thearmysent150,000soldierstoTangshantohelptherescueworkers.Hundredsofthousandsofpeoplewerehelped.Thearmyorganizedteamstodigoutthosewhoweretrappedandtoburythedead.Tothenorthofthecity,mostofthe10,000minerswererescuedfromthecoalminesthere.Workersbuiltsheltersforsurvivorswhosehomeshadbeendestroyed.Freshwaterwastakentothecitybutrain,truckandplane.Slowly,thecitybegantobreatheagain. 　　OfficeoftheCityGovernment 　　Tangshan,Hebei 　　河北省东北部的农村不断有些怪事发生.三天来,村子里的井水升升降降,起起伏伏,农民注意到,水井的井壁上有深深的裂缝,裂缝里冒着臭气,农家大院里的鸡设置猪也紧张到不想吃食,老鼠从田地里跑出来找地方藏身,鱼缸和池塘里的鱼会往外跳,在1976年七月28日凌晨3点左右.有些人看到天上有一道道明亮的光,即使没有飞机飞过.在唐山城外也可以听到飞机声.在市内.有些建筑物的水管爆开来,但是.唐山市的一百万居民几乎都没有把这些情况当一回事.当晚照常的睡了. 　　在凌晨3点42分.一切开始摇晃起来了.世界似乎到了末日.二十世纪最大的地震就在唐山市正下方11公里处发生了.100公里外的北京市都感到了震感.全国三分之一的地方都有震感.一条8公里的长,30米宽的巨大裂缝横穿房舍.马路和渠道.地上一些洞穴冒出了蒸汽.石头山变成了泥沙河,在可怕的十五秒内一座大城市就沉沦在一片废墟之中.人们遭受的灾难极为严重.2/3的人在地震中死亡或受伤.成千上万个家庭遇难.许多小孩变成了孤儿.死伤人数到达了40多万.幸存的人怎么能相信这个是自然现象.人们无论朝哪里看,那里的一切几乎都被毁了.所有市内的医院,75%的工厂和建筑物,9